Museum aims to keep yesteryear alive in Tobyhanna

In a quiet house along Route 611 near Tobyhanna, local residents are working to keep alive the days before refrigerators or modern plumbing.

JENNA EBERSOLE

In a quiet house along Route 611 near Tobyhanna, local residents are working to keep alive the days before refrigerators or modern plumbing.

From an antique ice box to a chamber pot that provokes an "ewww" from touring children, the Wills Mansion is a living monument to the Coolbaugh Township community and industries that built it.

Home to Ann Wills beginning in the 1920s, the museum today displays photographs and memorabilia from the last century. The house is a tribute to local history and the wealthy woman who founded Saint Ann's Church.

Wills was widowed in the early 1920s by a man who made his money in the liquor, rail and banking industries. She came to Coolbaugh Township from Scranton to summer in the fine house, spending her winters in Florida.

Kay Kinsley, vice president of the Coolbaugh Township Historical Association which runs the Bicentennial Museum in the mansion, explained the history during tours Wednesday.

Kinsley swung open the doors of the ice box, where milk or eggs could be stored for a few days with a section of ice. Children were responsible for emptying the tray at the bottom, where the melting ice dripped slowly.

Ice and lumber were also the industries of the surrounding community. Ice sent in blocks by rail from the area supplied the tables of the fashionable residents of New York City and Philadelphia, Kinsley said.

Wills, meanwhile, was good-hearted, Kinsley said. In founding the church, she also insisted that she and her husband and son be buried in the basement.

"She was quite a character," Kinsley said.

Also a character was Wills' son, a "party guy" who drove around town in a large convertible and drew residents to each watering hole he frequented.

"He was well-liked," Kinsley said with a smile. "He enjoyed his mother's money."

Most of Wills' possessions were donated to Marywood University upon her death, though Kinsley said she hopes one day to persuade the return of a few items for display at the house.

Still, the museum's collection includes records of the township, donated antique items such as a wedding dress, photographs and candle sconces and an extensive Civil War display on loan from a collector.

Aug. 10 is the big day for the museum this year with the annual summer art and music festival.

The museum is open 10 a.m. to noon on Mondays and Saturdays between noon and 4 p.m. until September. It is also open Tuesday for tours starting at 10 a.m., noon and 2 p.m. Entrance is free with donations accepted.